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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

As Kobe Bryant once said, “There is power in understanding the journey of others to help create your own.” That’s why the Learning Leader Show exists—to understand the journeys of other leaders so that we can better understand our own. This show is full of learnings taught by world-class leaders—personal stories of successes, failures, and lessons learned along the way. Our guests come from diverse backgrounds—CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies, best-selling authors, Navy SEALs, and professional athletes. My role in this endeavor is to talk to the most thoughtful, accomplished, and intentional leaders in the world so that we can learn from them as we each create our own journeys.
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Now displaying: December, 2016
Dec 29, 2016

Episode 183: Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

Barry Schwartz studies the link between economics and psychology, offering startling insights into modern life. Lately, working with Ken Sharpe, he's studying wisdom. In his 2004 book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz tackles one of the great mysteries of modern life: Why is it that societies of great abundance — where individuals are offered more freedom and choice (personal, professional, material) than ever before — are now witnessing a near-epidemic of depression? Conventional wisdom tells us that greater choice is for the greater good, but Schwartz argues the opposite: He makes a compelling case that the abundance of choice in today's western world is actually making us miserable.

Infinite choice is paralyzing, Schwartz argues, and exhausting to the human psyche.It leads us to set unreasonably high expectations, question our choices before we even make them and blame our failures entirely on ourselves. His relatable examples, from consumer products (jeans, TVs, salad dressings) to lifestyle choices (where to live, what job to take, who and when to marry), underscore this central point: Too much choice undermines happiness.

Episode 183: Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"When you have infinite choice... Instead of being liberate, you get paralyzed."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes to sustain excellence:
    • People really care about what they're trying to achieve
    • They want to change people's lives
  • Why the leaders of organizations must give their employees opportunities to stretch, and demonstrate mastery
  • Why Barry wore shorts during his legendary TED Talk
  • People think the more choices we have, the better we'll be. It has limits...
  • The consequences with ease of communication -- "People are thinking less, and talking more."
  • Why Twitter is bad
  • Daniel Kahneman's work -- System 1 and System 2
  • Why are movies on an airplane better?
  • The proper way to set expectations
  • The secret to happiness
  • How to manage expectations:
    • Make the rare not common - ie: Deliberately drink great win infrequently
  • Why are people affiliated with organized religion happier? -- Less to do with religion and more to do with community. Most religions are full of constraints
  • "Why We Work" -- Dan Pink's work on this is fantastic
  • The future of work -- A world full of contractors

“The secret to happiness is low expectations." -- Barry Schwartz

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing Barry Schwartz on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooksFreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Dec 26, 2016

Episode 182: Vinh Giang - Why You Should Make The Leap

Vinh Giang is a motivational/ inspirational keynote speaker and he uses magic as his metaphor when he speaks (He's found a way to make the medicine taste good!). He's built a successful online business that teaches magic to over 41,000 students from all over the world. His business won South Australian young entrepreneur of the year in 2013. In 2016, his online business has just combined forces with 52Kards which is one of America's leading online magic schools, after combining our schools together and many years of hard work they now teach over 500,000 students from all over the world. Vinh's other area of expertise is performance, being a magician and speaker he's spent 80% of the year on stage performing and presenting to people all over the world.

Episode 182: Vinh Giang - Why You Should Make The Leap

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"It took millions of years of serendipitous events for you to be here, and now that you are here, you are alive for 80 years on average. When you compare how long it took for you to get here versus how long you are her for... It's like you are alive for 1 minute. It's a privilege to be alive."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes to sustain excellence:
    • The ability to face your fears head on
    • Not avoiding difficult conversations
  • Why Vinh stopped trying to live up to others expectations
  • How David Blaine helped is business
  • The importance of having a speaker reel/highlight video
  • Why you should work with documentary makers -- They are story-tellers
  • The 3 Elements to a great speaker
    • Educate
    • Inspire
    • Entertain
  • You must have a relentless belief that it can be done
  • The power of magic -- It brings out the inner child in everyone
  • You're alive for 1 minute and you've already lived 20 seconds of it... What will you do for the remaining 40 seconds?
  • Why are people so scared to take chances?
  • "Happiness is progress"
  • "We all have the right ingredients... We just need the recipe."
  • Goal Setting -- We need to take time to recalibrate
  • "You're like a glass of muddy water... Until you're still, you won't have clarity."
  • Public speaking -- Why this should be taught in schools from a young age
  • "I've realized the beauty in the unknown. Magic lives in the unknown. The most beautiful things in life are the unknown."
  • Why 5 year plans are not helpful

“Don't you think the most addictive thing in the world is comfort?"

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing Vinh Giang on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooksFreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Dec 22, 2016

 

Episode 185: Haben Girma - The First Deafblind Harvard Law Graduate, Champion Of Change

An internationally acclaimed accessibility leader, Haben Girma has earned recognition as a White House “Champion of Change”, Forbes 30 under 30 leader, and BBC Women of Africa Hero. The first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, Haben champions equal access to information for people with disabilities. She has been honored by President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, and many others.

People with disabilities represent the largest minority group, numbering one billion worldwide. Reaching a group of this scale creates value for everyone. Organizations that prioritize accessibility benefit by gaining access to a much larger user base, improving the experience for both disabled and non-disabled users, and facilitating further innovation.

Watch Haben teach 4,000 developers the connection between Disability & Innovation at Apple’s 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Haben has been featured extensively in media round the world, including the BBC, CBS, Forbes, the Washington Post, MTV, NPR, and many more.

Haben grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where she currently lives. She holds a B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Lewis & Clark College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In addition to her accessibility work, she enjoys salsa dancing, surfing, and traveling the world.

Episode 185: Haben Girma - The First Deafblind Harvard Law Graduate, Champion Of Change

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"Excellent leaders are honest about their strengths and weaknesses."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes to sustain excellence:
    • Honest about strengths and weaknesses
    • Great problem solvers
    • High level of self-awareness
  • Haben is Deafblind - she understands her strengths and weaknesses very well
  • Her TED Talk - Advocating for others -- How and why she champions equal access to information for people with disabilities
  • Communicating and hugging President Barack Obama
  • How she communicates -- The use of braille.  For our talk on this podcast, she had an interpreter listen to what I said and then type it out for her to read in braille
  • What are the best ways to communicate with people who are deaf -- Haben helps me understand
  • Why you should never tell her that her story inspires you
  • How chocolate cake played a role in her becoming an advocacy attorney
  • What advice given to others who want to go into advocacy? Start with yourself. Maybe there is a gender bias, religious, or racial. Build up from there...
  • Haben describes how she experiences movies
  • The best piece of advice she's received: Don't insist on doing something by yourself. Ask for help. Work smart. Sometimes it's better to be helped by others
  • What she hopes people learn from her speeches? That she continually adds value to others
  • Haben's thoughts on Helen Keller - She's brilliant
  • Haben's brother is also Deafblind -- He works in technology
  • How she actively makes a choice to ignore fear
  • Why Uber denied her a ride 3 times and what happened
  • Her Goals: Change our culture -- Disability adds value... Trainings & Workshops

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing Haben Girma on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by FreshBooksFreshBooks is offering a 30 day, unrestricted free trial to my listeners. To claim it, just go to FreshBooks.com/Learning and enter LEARNING LEADER in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section.

Dec 18, 2016

Episode 181: Srini Rao - How To Be Unmistakably Creative

Srini Rao is the host and founder of The Unmistakable Creative podcast where he's conducted over 600 interviews with thought leaders and people from all walks of life. This has given him an incredibly distinctive view into branding, storytelling, and marketing. Srini has also written multiple books including the Wall Street Journal bestseller The Art of Being Unmistakable; created,planned, and executed a 60-person conference called the Instigator Experience;and am publishing the forthcoming Unmistakable book with Penguin Portfolio. Somewhere along the way his compass led him in the direction of an economics degree from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Extracting unmistakable stories out of people is his superpower. And in his spare time he's usually chasing waves.

Episode 181: Srini Rao - How To Be Unmistakably Creative

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"All change is proceeded by crisis."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes to sustain excellence:
    • A pathological inability to accept the status quo
    • Resilience
    • A disciplined work ethic
  • Why the path is never linear
  • Reading 100 books a year
  • How to turn disadvantages into disproportionate advantages
  • The Pepperdine MBA - How it impacted Srini
  • "Most people like the idea of leaping, but not executing on it"
  • How to make "micro-changes"
  • Creating multiple streams of revenue:
    • Author (book deals)
    • Speaking
    • Sponsors
    • Projects
  • Why you should write 1,000 words per day
  • "Systems vs. Goals"
  • Stephen Pressfield - "The Resistance"
  • The "8 Step Daily Routine"
  • Why surfing helps Srini
  • Having the ability to navigate and weave in and out of relationships
  • Learning Leader = A lifelong commitment to becoming better on a daily basis

“Is what you're doing today leading to what you want to do five years from now?"

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing Srini Rao on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by  Mizzen and Main: Performance fabric menswear. The most comfortable/durable dress shirts you will find on the market. I personally own 22 of them. To get free shipping, use the code "ryanhawk" -- To get $50 off when you purchase three shirts, use the code "ryanhawk3" -- Thank you for your support!

Dec 12, 2016

Episode 180: Michael Watkins - The First 90 Days: How To Ensure Success In Your New Role

Dr. Michael Watkins is the author of Your Next Move: The Leader’s Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions, and the international bestseller The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at all Levels, which The Economist called “the on-boarding bible.” With more than 750,000 copies sold in English, and translations in 27 languages, The First 90 Days has become the standard reference for leaders in transition. Recently The First 90 Days was named one of the best 100 business books of all time.

Drawing on the perfect combination of research and hand-on experience, he has spent the last two decades working with leaders – both corporate and public — as they transition to new roles, negotiate the future of their organizations, and craft their legacy as leaders.

Episode 180: Michael Watkins - The First 90 Days: How To Ensure Success In Your New Role

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

“I help leaders and their teams make good career transitions."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes to sustain excellence:
    • Learning Agility - Not shy about learning, and they don't expect themselves to have all the answers
    • Diversity of Experience - Multiple functions, multiple companies
    • Delicate balance between humility and ego
  • Jeff Immelt from GE is a good example
  • Confidence vs. Ego -- Desire to achieve, but cannot create echo chambers.
  • The First 90 Days -- Michael's world-wide best selling book on how to transition to a leadership role
  • The Leadership Pipeline - Another book to help make the transition from individual contributor to management. It's a completely different skill set
  • The toughest move/promotion is the very first one
  • The common traps leaders fall in to -- Relying only on what they're good at. Must broaden skills. You have to be a force multiplier.
    • Common Issues and problems leaders run in to: "Coming in with the answer. Not building lateral relationships. Engaging on the wrong side of learning."
  • Why you must re-learn how to learn
    • How is the culture different?
      • Politically
      • Technically
  • Who is the "dream team?" The five people you must meet immediately upon taking a new role
  • The importance of the boss and the role she plays in helping
  • Momentum -- Creating early wins.  Why you must make this happen
    • Look for little irritants to remove
    • Secure a win by thinking differently
  • Your first public address to the group -- Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. The first impression is vital
  • How to prepare for a management (role) interview
  • Why a "One Sheet" of your core beliefs is better than a 30-60-90 day plan

“You have to be a force multiplier. You can't be a super-rep."

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing Michael Watkins on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by  Mizzen and Main: Performance fabric menswear. The most comfortable/durable dress shirts you will find on the market. I personally own 22 of them. To get free shipping, use the code "ryanhawk" -- To get $50 off when you purchase three shirts, use the code "ryanhawk3" -- Thank you for your support!

Dec 8, 2016

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers from 178 Conversations

This is an episode unlike any other... I've listened through some of the best answers to the question: "What are the common characteristics/themes amongst those who have sustained excellence over an extended period of time?" We (my editor, Scott Donnell and me) pulled out some of the best, most useful answers and created an "all-star" Sustaining Excellence episode. I think you'll like it. I welcome all feedback via Twitter or you can send me an e-mail.

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers from 178 Conversations

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

In This Episode, You Will Learn

#78 Kat Cole - A scale, a balance of 2 buckets: Courage & Confidence + Curiosity & Humility. “They are productive achievers vs destructive achievers”

#127 Adam Grant - “They are dedicated learners. What’s fascinating by them is no matter how much excellence they achieve, they are always raising the bar. The more they accomplish the more they expect of themselves. Curiosity is the starting point for all originality”

#107 Simon Sinek - “They have vision, they have charisma? I’m not so sure that’s true. They don’t need a Steve Jobs vision.  One thing I’m comfortable saying is courage.  It takes tremendous courage to stick to your values."

#117 Tim Urban"The impact you make is the level of measurement for a leader.  It's different than what's normal"

#86 Seth Godin - “They’ve made a choice”

#114 Cal Newport - “The leader respects how hard everything is that’s worth doing.” Everything’s harder than you think. Impactful contribution is really hard.”

#115 Amy Porterfield - “The first word that comes to mind is consistency… Followed mentors. All create consistent content and show up consistently. Have a drive to follow up

#42 Rob DeMartini - “To measure success you have to look at more aspects of their lives.  What was I seeing that was consistent? 4 things: Naturally curious, do they want to see how things are working? Could it be different? If you’re curious, it opens up so much. Energy & Optimism. Personal Awareness

#105 David Burkus - “I think there is a consistent dissatisfaction… I need to be proud of what I’ve done, but constantly frustrated that I’m not further along.  That balance.”

#82 Dan Pink - “Curiosity, they follow their noses, especially if they know a lot of stuff. Generosity, I love the way you put it, sustaining excellence. Reasonably generous people. They don’t pull up the ladder when they get to the top. They are hardworking and conscientious, grit. Peter Drucker comes to mind"

#74 Tim Kight - “People who consistently perform. Intentional, purposeful, and constantly building skill.”

#77 Adam Braun - “3 things: Tremendously intrinsically motivated, integrity, surround themselves with people who play a level above them.”

#48 Cameron Herold - “Sense of vulnerability… Checked ego at the door. Realize they aren’t the smartest person in the room. Sense of curiosity.”

#122 Sarah Robb O’Hagan - “One of the biggest single things is curiosity, goes hand in hand with humility. They don’t ever feel like they’ve reached the top of the mountain.”

#98 Alison Levine - “Resilience more than anything else. Resilient about putting one foot in front of the other."

#68 Joey Coleman - “I think all leaders have 3 general things in common. 1) A growth and learning mindset. Constantly thirsting for knowledge and learning. 2) Gratitude, they recognize how lucky and blessed they are. Take time to appreciate the gifts and blessings in their lives. 3) Gentle with themselves

#108 Steven Kotler - “Ferocious about forward progress.  Nothing mild about how they attack life.  Level of commitment. The day to day.”

#43 Philip McKernan - “The eyes, peace of mind.  I can see that. Use the eyes as a gateway to see their bullshit.”

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing a compilation episode like this, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Mizzen and Main: Performance fabric menswear. The most comfortable/durable dress shirts you will find on the market. I personally own 22 of them. To get free shipping, use the code "ryanhawk" -- To get $50 off when you purchase three shirts, use the code "ryanhawk3" -- Thank you for your support!

Dec 5, 2016

Episode 178: Sol Orwell - CEO, Digital Nomad, Vulnerability As A Leader

Sol Orwell is an entrepreneur and business developer, most known for his work as the co-founder of Examine.com. He was recognized as a 2014 Game Changer by Men’s Fitness and profiled by Forbes as a seven-figure entrepreneur.

Sol describes himself as semi-retired, which allows him to travel three to four months out of the year. He does not take investment money to retain control of his companies and free time.

He has stepped back from an active role in Examine.com to focus on other projects. He blogs about business development in the context of making money online on SJO.com and serves on the advisory board for Schwarzenegger.com as a health and fitness expert.

Episode 178: Sol Orwell - CEO, Digital Nomad, Vulnerability As A Leader

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

“I did what any normal person would do – I gave the company to my #2 to run, paid him more than I paid myself, and basically became a digital nomad."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes to sustain excellence = "A deep level for creating creativity."
  • Why Deep Work is so critical to Sol's success
  • A typical day:
    • 2 minute cold shower
    • The 5 Minute Journal
    • A 10-15 minute walk -- "Get the brain started"
    • Get to work
    • Done with work by 2:30 every single day
  • Friday's are always no work days... Just "reading days"
  • The specific process Sol has taken to build a life around "creating businesses around my interests"
  • The process of purchasing Examine.com for $41,000 (and why he did it)
  • Putting his #2 in charge so he could travel the world and be a "digital nomad"
  • The Picasso Principle
  • How to create this lifestyle: Have no ego, create a blueprint, execute, trust others
  • Creating a "Side Hustle" -- A how to
  • Why you must "Get Started"
  • The #cookielife
  • Vulnerability is "when you don't know what the response will be when you put yourself out there."
  • 1,000 true fans
  • Why Sol does not take VC money
  • Changing his name to Sol Orwell... Why?
  • How travel can create empathy and why that's so important for a leader... Being grateful
  • Learning Leader = Constantly learning. Have self-awareness. Take criticism, and foster the spirit to accept it
  • "Luck is a function of observation"

“I think a big part of entrepreneurship is to realize that you can trust other people. You can be rewarded for trusting other people. You don’t have to necessarily look over their shoulder.”

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing Sol Orwell on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by  Mizzen and Main: Performance fabric menswear. The most comfortable/durable dress shirts you will find on the market. I personally own 22 of them. To get free shipping, use the code "ryanhawk" -- To get $50 off when you purchase three shirts, use the code "ryanhawk3" -- Thank you for your support!

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